Missing Christmas?

When I would tell everyone when I was leaving for Uganda, the response would almost always be along the lines of “so you’re missing Christmas with your family?” Yes, it was kind of sad, especially with my sister about to be engaged (she didn’t know it and I did!), but I was just going to give it over to the Lord and be ok with missing Christmas. So then I got here, and realized a completely overlooked fact: it’s impossible to miss Christmas!
Yesterday Sadie took me out to Good Shepherd’s Fold Orphanage, where we got to visit the houses, play with the children and have dinner with a missionary family there. After that, we got to help organize and escort a busload of the children in to a Christmas nativity play and Christmas carol/lights show. It was at Riverside Academy, a primary school in Jinja, and it was amazing!
I don’t have any pictures, otherwise I’d post some, but it was too dark for that. Everyone sat down on the grass and watched the outdoor production of the Christmas Story by the light of flashlights and torches. Many of the children had never seen such a production, and laughed , leaned forward or held their breaths as the story unfolded. They all softly sang Joy to the World at the end, and that’s when I looked around, hardly able to take in the beauty that I was surrounded by.
There I was under the distant stars, with Venus, the Morning Star flashing and shining brighter than all the rest. The sloping garden fell away from me, to reveal the Nile River; a gray, sheeny body framed by the darker silhouettes of palm trees. I thought of Revelation 22:16, where Jesus tells us “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star”, and there, listening to the familiar words of the Christmas song, sung in the unfamiliar Ugandan accent . . . it was Christmas.
After the play, we all moved down the garden paths, where the surrounding trees were wrapped and draped with Christmas lights that blinked and alternated to the Christmas songs being played. The children loved it so much, and everyone was smiling, laughing and singing along. Sadie was ringed by several girls, pulling her into a dance full of twirls and giggles.
All that time I thought about how silly I was, thinking that it was even possible to miss Christmas. Jesus entered the world in that beautiful, humble way, for all people everywhere! I was so much closer to the actual place of His birth, and sharing the celebration with these beautiful, wonderful children, and praising Christ for all that He has done! So here I am, with what will be one of my greatest Christmas memories ever, made on the year that I “missed Christmas”.
So whatever you’re doing, and absolutely wherever you are, Merry Christmas to you!